From Me To You
by akane47
Summary: "I used to think you were really cool when we were kids... I might have even had a little crush on you back then." A brief look back at Kang Shin-woo and So Ha-neul's elementary school days, and how it all began. Consistent with the "This Above All" universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Kang Shin-woo belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_. The title of this fic comes from the 1963 song by The Beatles.

**FROM ME TO YOU**

_"I used to think you were really cool when we were kids," Ha-neul said, and giggled. _

_"I might have even had a little crush on you back then." — from This Above All, Chapter Nine_

_Chapter One_

_Busan, 2000_

"_Ya_, Doo-hwan, where were you?" a boy shouted as So Ha-neul entered the classroom. "We didn't see you in the cafeteria!"

Ha-neul would have ignored the loudmouth if she hadn't heard the answer from one of his friends. "Are you blind, Son-hae?" a second boy asked. "That's not Doo-hwan; that's So Ha-neul!"

"It _is_?" Nam Son-hae asked, the exagerrated wonder in his tone suggesting that he had known it was her from the very beginning. Her cheeks began to grow warm.

"Can't you see she's wearing a skirt?" the other one pointed out, sounding as though he were in on the joke, too.

"Well, she's as tall as Doo-hwan. Anyone could have made the same mistake."

_Tell them that's not true!_ Ha-neul's mind screamed as Son-hae laughed and exchanged high-fives with his friends. She tried to will herself to say or do something, but couldn't even move from her spot just beyond the door, let alone think of and actually utter a clever retort.

She was still trying to work up the nerve to respond when a third voice broke in. "That's enough, guys."

Ha-neul recovered enough to turn and find Kang Shin-woo standing just behind her. To her mortification, she realized that he had heard, if not everything, then at least enough to understand why those boys were laughing at her.

Fortunately, he seemed to be on her side, and since he was one of the oldest in the class, even Son-hae and his friends paid attention when he spoke. "We were just joking around," they said.

"Well, I'm sure that was fun for you, but you're making Ha-neul uncomfortable."

The boys looked at her, and she managed to glare at them. "Sorry, Ha-neul," one of Son-hae's sidekicks muttered.

Before she could say anything, Teacher Gong entered the classroom. The older woman placed her things on the teacher's desk and surveyed the students scrambling to take their seats.

She arched an eyebrow at the tableau in the back of the room. "Is there a problem, Ha-neul?"

Ha-neul was sorely tempted to answer that there was. Teacher Gong was one of the strictest in school, and Son-hae was already in enough trouble with her. He was actually starting to look worried. One word, and he could get punished.

But instead, she just answered, "No, Teacher Gong." Hopefully the narrow escape would be enough to scare the boys into leaving her alone; if not, then she would figure out a way to make them sorry.

"All right, then. Take your seat. You, too, Kang Shin-woo."

"Yes, Teacher Gong."

* * *

Ha-neul gave Shin-woo a brief nod of thanks, which he returned with a polite smile before taking his seat as the teacher ordered.

Eun Jae-bong, who had the seat in the row ahead, turned around to grin at him. "I think I know who's going to win the Perfect Gentleman Award again this year," he teased as Teacher Gong started writing that day's lesson on the blackboard.

"I wasn't thinking about that," Shin-woo told him earnestly. "I just wanted them to stop. Ha-neul can't help it if she's tall."

"Son-hae can be a real pain," the other boy admitted. "Good thing he listens to you; he doesn't even mind anyone else, not even Hyun-seok, and he's class president." Then he paused, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if he likes Ha-neul."

"What? Why would you think so?"

Jae-bong shrugged. "My mom says boys only tease girls they like."

"That doesn't make sense. If you liked someone, wouldn't you want to _not_ make them feel bad?" Ha-neul had had an awful look on her face while those boys were laughing at her. That wasn't the kind of look you wanted to see on someone you liked.

"My mom also said this love stuff doesn't necessarily have to make sense."

Just then, Teacher Gong finished writing on the blackboard and turned to the class. "Our lesson is about to begin," she announced. "Please take out your books and open to Chapter 12."

Shin-woo shook his head as he dug around in his bag for his math book. He didn't know if Son-hae really did like Ha-neul, but one thing was for sure: making fun of her wasn't right, and he was going to do his best to keep it from happening ever again.

* * *

When Shin-woo turned to go, Ha-neul hurried to her own desk, painfully conscious that she was the only girl tall enough to sit in the very back row.

She tried to remind herself that there was nothing wrong with being tall. When she had first mentioned it at home, her mother pointed out that Ha-neul got her height from her basketball player father. "You can't fight genetics," Mrs. So always said.

Besides, her mother added, it was only temporary; girls tended to develop faster than boys, but they would catch up sooner or later. Lots of boys didn't know that, though, or they had forgotten. Those boys gave the girls who were taller than them a hard time because they were jealous or confused by all the changes going on in and around them.

Good thing at least one boy in her class wasn't like that, Ha-neul thought as she glanced at Shin-woo, who was exchanging jokes with the boy sitting in front of him. Even if he didn't know about the things Mrs. So had talked about, it was nice of him not to make fun of Ha-neul for being so tall. Actually, he wasn't a loudmouth like the other boys; he liked to joke around with their classmates from time to time, but when he said something, it was usually something important.

She decided right then that Kang Shin-woo was the nicest boy in the sixth grade.

The fact that he was just a little (not a lot) shorter than her didn't hurt, either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Kang Shin-woo belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_.

* * *

_Chapter Two_

Almost every day after school, a bunch of boys, mostly from the upper grades, would take over the basketball courts and play until it was time to go home. When she was around, Ha-neul's classmates invited her to join not only because she was tall, but also because she played center on their school's girls' team and thus knew her way around a court.

Son-hae and his friends were going to play that day, so she almost refused when their other classmates started clamoring for her to join. They still teased her, even after that near-miss with Teacher Gong a few days ago, and she didn't want to risk having them for teammates.

Then Shin-woo gave her an encouraging smile. "Please play, Ha-neul. I could use one more person to complete my team."

Well, there was no way she could say no to _that_.

* * *

One would think that, after inviting her to join their games so many times already, the boys would have learned not to go easy on her just because she was a girl, but they continued to do so, and Ha-neul always made them pay.

Fortunately, she was not playing on the same team as Son-hae, and this gave her a chance to give him and his friends a hard time in the name of the game. When they sagged off on defense, she drove to the basket or tried to give her teammates opportunities to score. (Her father always said that basketball was a _team_ sport.) When they tensed up or pulled back while she was defending against them, she bumped them out of scoring position or stripped them of the ball.

She even got in a shot block in this game, sending the ball back with a thunderous spike that left everyone awestruck for a few moments and preserved her team's lead, 19 baskets to 15.

A teammate eventually remembered that the ball was still in play and went after it, but the lapse gave their opponents enough time to set up their defense. Ha-neul ran downcourt to her customary place beneath the basket. One of her defenders jostled her, a little more roughly than usual, but she managed to receive the pass.

Immediately, she was triple-teamed, and she found herself looking into Son-hae's smirking face. "Think you can get past all of us?" he taunted.

For a while, she seriously thought about taking up his dare and elbowing him out of the way. The idea was tempting (especially the part about hitting him), but it also wasn't very sporting and wouldn't help her team to win.

Suddenly, Ha-neul spied a movement over Son-hae's shoulder. Deciding not to waste any more time trying to figure out how to power her way out of her predicament, she launched herself straight up and tossed the ball over her defenders' heads.

To her relief, she found that she had sent it into Shin-woo's hands. An opponent was positioned between him and the basket, but somehow he managed to slip past and sail the rest of the way to the goal for a perfect lay-up.

Son-hae and his teammates groaned as the ball slipped through the net and ended the game. Ha-neul knew that this was the perfect time to taunt the boys right back, but her father had taught her that winning was the best revenge. If they didn't stop teasing her, then she would beat them at basketball, again and again, until they did.

Besides, she couldn't think of a good comeback.

* * *

"That was a great pass. Thanks." When Ha-neul looked up from zipping her backpack closed, Shin-woo held out the small bottle of aloe juice he had bought from the school canteen.

He shook it at her when she made no move to take it. "This is for you."

"Oh." She took it with a small nod. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He watched her twist off the cap and take a small sip. "You're really good at basketball," he continued as she drank. "Your dad's teaching you, right?"

She nodded again. "Yes, he is."

Her reply sounded a little stiff, and Shin-woo remembered that she didn't really like talking about her father. Mr. So played power forward for the Busan Kia Enterprise of the Korean Basketball League. When they weren't teasing her about her height, her classmates asked about him and if she could get them free tickets to Enterprise games when they were playing in town.

He wasn't going to be one of those people. "That's cool. It's nice to have something to do with your dad, isn't it? Mine travels a lot for his job, too, so when he's home he takes me and my brothers to the movies, or to play badminton in the park. He says that even if we can't see each other every day, the important thing is to make good memories when we _are_ together."

To his relief, that made Ha-neul smile. "My dad says the same thing."

Shin-woo smiled back and was about to ask her what else she and her dad did when he wasn't playing out of town when he spotted a small figure running towards them, waving its arms for attention. _"Ya! Hyung!"_ it called in the voice of his younger brother, Shin-man. _"Omma's here!"_

_"All right, I'm coming!"_ he called back, and gave Ha-neul an apologetic look. "I have to go. My mother's come to pick us up."

She nodded. "Thanks again for... well, everything."

"You're welcome." He picked up his school bag and turned to follow his brother to the gate. "See you tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Kang Shin-woo belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to jinx XD for the review! :)

* * *

_Chapter Three_

Valentine's Day was sort of a big deal at Ha-neul's school. It wasn't because all the kids were planning to give or receive presents that day (they were only in elementary school, after all), but everyone was eager to find out who among the older, more courageous girls would make any romantic gestures and reveal which boys they liked.

Ha-neul didn't plan to be one of them. She felt conspicuous enough as it was and didn't need to give anyone any more reason to stare at or whisper about her. Besides, her mother had told her that girls should never be too "forward" around boys.

But she _did_ want to give a certain something to A Certain Someone for being so nice...

"Are you going in or not?" an impatient voice asked. A group of high school girls stood behind her, waiting to enter the stationery store.

Blushing, she led the way inside. They broke away from her quickly and made a beeline for the gift section, which was full of stuffed animals, mugs, and picture frames in festive pink, red, and white. Ha-neul thought the gifts were cute, but dismissed them immediately as being too personal. Besides, she couldn't very well give him anything _pink_.

Her best option, she eventually decided, was to just give him a card. She had to go through the entire display to find one with a message that wasn't too flowery, but since it was such a small thing and there were so many last-minute shoppers, she bought it and smuggled it into the house without incident.

Ha-neul felt rather bold, giving a boy a valentine, but she told herself that she wasn't completely disobeying her mother. She was just going to give him a card, instead of something more conspicuous and sentimental like a gift or a letter. She wasn't even going to sign her name.

That wasn't too "forward," was it?

* * *

Even though some of his friends received valentines, Shin-woo wasn't expecting to get anything himself, and so he was surprised to find the red envelope in his locker during lunch.

At first, he thought it had been slipped in there by mistake, but saw his name written on the envelope. Inside was a card with a drawing of a rosy-cheeked girl holding a heart on the front. The message was simple, just _Happy Valentine's Day to someone special_, but the sender had added _Thank you for being my friend_ on the bottom.

It clearly wasn't a love letter, or a gift given with all the pomp of a major production, but it was _something_: the first valentine he had ever received from someone who wasn't his mother. (He was sure that it wasn't from his mother—or anyone else he knew, for that matter—because, even though there was no name to let him know whom the card was from, the handwriting wasn't familiar.) And wasn't it nice to be thanked for being someone's friend?

Shin-woo looked around to see if anyone was watching him for a reaction and, seeing no one nearby, allowed himself a smile.

Although it was true that no one was near him, someone _was_ standing several lockers away, watching his every move. Ha-neul peered at him through the slits in her own locker door, holding her breath as she waited for his reaction to her card.

Her cheeks turned pink when she saw him smile. She had been sure that he wouldn't laugh or throw it away, but she also hadn't expected him to look so pleased by it. Shin-woo probably hadn't received a valentine from a girl before.

_That means mine was the first!_

Ha-neul watched Shin-woo tuck her card inside one of his books, close his locker, and make his way to their classroom. She hid her face as he walked past her, and waited a few minutes before following suit. As she walked down the corridor, she wondered whether she should have signed her name to the card.

_No,_ she thought, _sending him the card was __enough for now. _

Someday, when they were closer, she would get the courage to tell him the card was from her.

* * *

That summer, Ha-neul's father signed a contract to play for another basketball team and the family had to move to Seoul. Ha-neul cried as they drove out of town, not only because they were leaving the only home she had ever known, but also because she had lost her chance to let Kang Shin-woo know that the valentine had come from her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Kang Shin-woo belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_.

**Technical Notes:** In East Asia (i.e., China, Japan, and Korea), White Day (March 14) is a day for guys who received gifts from girls last Valentine's Day to return the favor. I think there's a policy that the guy's White Day gift should be three times as expensive as the Valentine's Day gift that he received, which works for me :)

**Author's Note:** Thanks to jinx XD for the review! :)

* * *

_Chapter Four_

_Seoul, March 2012_

"I can't believe you still have that!" Ha-neul exclaimed.

"Aha, I was right!" With a triumphant grin, Shin-woo wagged the Valentine's Day card at his girlfriend. "This _was_ from you!"

Had they been in public, speaking loudly or making excessive gestures would not have been an option; but they were having their belated White Day date in the privacy of Ha-neul's house, so they were free to carry on to their heart's content.

"How did you know?" she asked, blushing. "Have you known ever since the sixth grade?"

"No," he admitted. "I only got the idea after you told me that you might have had a crush on me back then."

"Oh. Well, you're right, it was from me." She hit him lightly with a couch cushion. "But you shouldn't laugh. It took guts to buy that and give it to you!"

"I'm not laughing." Smiling, Shin-woo put his arm around her shoulders and Ha-neul snuggled into her boyfriend's embrace, glad that they had this opportunity to spend time together amid their busy schedules. "I remember how shy you were when we were kids, so I'm sure it took a lot of guts."

She nodded. "My mom said girls weren't supposed to be too forward with boys, but I really wanted to give you something for being so nice to me."

"You didn't have to, but I'm glad you did." He chuckled at the memory. "It was the first valentine I ever got that didn't come from my mother."

Ha-neul smiled and took the card from him, opening it to re-read the message she had written there so long ago. How she had agonized over it, once upon a time! "I had a feeling mine was the first."

"And now that it's White Day," Shin-woo told her, "I can finally pay you back. With interest."

With his free hand, he reached for his jacket, which had been tossed over the arm of the couch, and removed the small box he had tucked in one pocket. Inside the box was a fine silver chain, from which dangled a set of small colored gemstone pendants.

Ha-neul gasped. "It's beautiful!" Quickly, she tossed the sixth-grade card onto the coffee table and bundled up her hair, baring her neck. "Put it on me?"

He grinned as he did as his girlfriend asked. "Do you really like it?" he asked, even though it was clear from the delighted surprise on her face that he had chosen well. (Actually, he had asked Coordinator Wang to round up some options for him to avoid the risk of him being seen buying women's jewelry, but the final choice had still been his.)

"I love it," she assured him, glancing down to admire her new necklace.

"Are you sure?" he teased. "You don't want me to take it back and buy you something made of plastic?"

Ha-neul stuck out her tongue at him. "Excuse me," she bantered back. "I know that I often tell you not to spend too much money on me, but I also know that you can't repay twelve years' worth of White Days with _plastic_. You're evil, Kang Shin-woo."

Shin-woo laughed, glad that she was saying that to him, for once, and leaned over for a kiss. "I know."

THE END


End file.
